The thoughts and reflections of one who is passionate about Jesus and struggles with sin just like everyone else.

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Wednesday, April 13, 2016

What is Lying?

Reading a Sermon on Genesis 42 by S Lewis Johnson to supplement my bible reading this morning and came upon a great quote that helps to see that lying broader than just not telling the truth . . . John Ruskin has some very good words about truth. Mr. Ruskin points out that a person can lie even by saying nothing, because the essence of lie is in deception not in words. A lie may be told by silence. A lie may be told by equivocation. A lie may be told even by an accent or a syllable or lie may be told by glance of the eye that attaches a peculiar significance to a sentence. All these kinds of lies Mr.Ruskin goes on to point out are worse and baser by many degrees that a lie plainly worded. So the essence of lie is not in the words that we knew. The essence of lie is in the deception that we practice. Now they are practicing deception. They say one is no more. That is true as far as they go. As far as they know, one is no more but that does not tell the real truth and they have never told Jacob the real truth since that time.